Book rest and copy holder



March 5, 1940. A. HANCHER 2,192,574

BOOK BEST AND COPY HOLDER Filed July 2, 1938 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 5, 1940 res UNITED FCE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to book rests and copy holders and has for its object the provision of a combined book rest and copy holder which may be employed with books and papers whether I large or small, and which is compact and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The device of my invention holds a book or paper in an inclined position at the correct eyelevel, and will at the same time keep the pages 10 of the book or the paper fiat and easy to read. The pages of the book or the paper may be held fiat without covering the reading matter, thus leaving the whole page free. The device may be adjusted to fit the book or paper with which it is ll used so that books and papers of difierent sizes may be firmly held in position.

My combined book rest and copy holder comprises a back having an outstanding ledge along its lower edge for supporting a book or paper, and

20 a pair of legs supporting the back above and spaced from the surface of the desk or table on which the .device is mounted. An easel support attached to the back holds the latter in an inclined position. Holding means connected to the :5 back which may be adjusted in accordance with the size of the book or the paper, secure the book or paper in position at both the top and the bottom. c

A preferred embodiment of this invention is 30 illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the device serving as a book rest, showing an open book resting thereon. I

35 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device as a copy holder, showing a paper supported therein.

Figure 3 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale showing the device in closed position.

Referring to the drawing, l designates a pair 40 of legs resting upon a supporting surface, the upper portions of the legs serving as supports for a back i l which is riveted to the legs so that the back is raised several inches from the supporting surface. At its lower edge the back is 45 provided with a ledge l2 extending forward substantially at right angles to the back. .The ledge extends across the full width of the back and provides a means for holding books or papers in position. The forward edge of the ledge is rolled 50 to form a head 13 to accommodate U-shaped wire holding members 14. The ends l5 of the holding members fit snugly into the bead I3 and are movable in or out to fit the width of the object held in position by the device. Since each of these holding members may be moved independently,

either large or small books or papers may be held in position, or if desired more than one book or paper may be held side by side for comparison. The holding members not only slidein or out of the bead for longitudinal adjustment but. also may be swung relative to the back for lateral adjustment, so that books of different thickness may be used on the rest and still held in position. Due to the shape and position of the holding members, when pressed toward the back to en- 10 gage the book or papers, they will contact the page of the book only at its lower margin, thus leavingthe reading matterin full view. Since these holding members move independently of each other, no difiiculty will be experienced when a book is opened near the front or the back so that one side is thicker than the other. It has been found preferable that the ends of these holding members which contact the book or paper, be rounded as illustrated in order that the 2 pages or paper will not be scratched or torn when in contact with the holding members.

In order to maintain the back in correct position, an easel support It is provided, the lower part of which rests upon the supporting surface. The upper portion of each leg of the easel support is bent to form an inverted V,'one leg, I6A, of which is hinged-to the back at ll. By means of this construction of the support Hi, the back, when in correct position, will bear against the leg I 6A of the inverted V, and the device will thus be held firmly at the desired angle.

Since the device is intended to be used either as a book rest or a copy holder, provision has been made for extending the height of the back for use on large books or papers. For this purpose a pair of arms l8 are riveted to the reverse side of the back at l9 so that when in use they may be swung around to extend verticallyabove the back, or when not needed, they may be swung down behind the back so as to be out of the way. Extension pieces 2! are slidably fitted over the arms IE! to provide means for extending the length of the arms and furnishing additional support for large size papers. On the free ends of the extension pieces 20, there are provided spring clips 2| which, in the device as illustrated, are formed integrally with the extension pieces, and by means of these clips, papers'may be held in place at the top thereof.

The device which is the object of this invention may be manufactured cheaply and easily since the material necessary is relatively inexpensive and is easy to work. Due to its construction,. the device is light and may be used on supporting surfaces such as table tops or desks, without injury to the surface. In addition to these advantages, the device may be either as a book rest or a paper holder, and may accommodate either large or small books or papers and at the same time allow a full view of the reading surfaces. One of the objections to the book rests previously available has been that they were not useful when the books were opened near the front or the back, so that the thickness on one side was greater than that on the other. This device eliminates this objection completely and in addition provides a means whereby two books, or two papers may be held in full view. It has also been found that by raising the level of the back several inches above the supporting surface, the person using the device may have room to turn the pages with ease.

I claim:

A combined book rest and copy holder comprising a back having a ledge extending outwardly at substantially right angles at the lower edge thereof, the ledge having a bead at its outer edge, a pair of U-shaped holding members slidably mounted in said bead and independently adjustable longitudinally and laterally, said holding members being adapted to hold the pages of a book or the like in open position, a pair of legs for supporting said back and ledge a distance above a supporting surface, an easel support hinged to the back for maintaining the back in upright position, a pair of arms pivoted to the upper portion of the back to be swung vertically above the back or to be swung behind the back, extension pieces slidably mounted on the arms for lengthening the effective length thereof, and spring clips carried at the outer ends of said extension pieces and adapted to engage the back of a book or the upper edge of a sheet of paper to hold it flat against the back of said device.

ARTHUR HAN CHER. 

